From Idea to The Party People: A Digital Transformation Journey with ShopHERE
Did someone say party? The Party People is a mobile party planning service based in Toronto, Ontario that specializes in children’s birthday parties. Owner, Patricia Barlow, was working as a birthday coordinator at a venue when she realized the demand for hands-off and affordable party services, which sparked the birth of her business.
The Party People offers a wide range of activities and takes care of everything from setup to cleanup, allowing families to relax and fully enjoy the party.
“Our goal is to alleviate the stress of hosting and planning, so families can enjoy and celebrate their special occasions and milestones.”
For Barlow, taking her business online was an overwhelming thought. Seeking support, she turned to the ShopHERE Powered by Google program and gained much more than expected. The ShopHERE program provides free 1-1 support for small businesses, helping them build professional and affordable websites to elevate their digital strategy.
Barlow had no prior knowledge of how to set up an online store, but ShopHERE equipped her with the necessary tools and resources to launch and promote her business online. Barlow spoke with her dedicated E-Commerce Coordinator about her vision. The Coordinator captured her desires perfectly and built them into a website that ticked all the right boxes and allows customers to browse party ideas, and book online.
Summing up her ShopHERE experience in one word, Barlow describes it as “fun”. The program allowed her to unleash her creativity while sharing her passion with others.
“Having always been a proactive and creative person, the process of setting up my online store was a lot of fun. Incorporating my branding and getting to share information about my business fueled my passion.”
Since launching her website, Barlow has experienced increased efficiency in her business operations. She can now collect payments and manage orders from customers in a more professional manner.
“The online site serves as a great centralized hub for providing customers with information about my services. The best part is being able to process online payments, send invoices, estimates, and service contracts to customers.”
To learn more about The Party People and their services, please visit their website.
If you are looking to launch and market your business online, check out the ShopHERE program for the knowledge and tools you need.
Digital Main Street was created by the Toronto Association of Business Improvement Areas (TABIA) with direct support from the City of Toronto. DMS is also supported by a group of strategic business partners, including Google, Mastercard, Shopify, Meta, Intuit QuickBooks, Square, Lightspeed, Ebay and Canada Post.
Continued investment from the Province of Ontario, through the Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade (MEDJCT) has allowed the ongoing expansion the Digital Main Street Platform in order to support more businesses going digital across Ontario.
